


Negotiations

by chaos_monkey



Series: Loyalties [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Thrawn Series - Timothy Zahn (2017)
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alternate Scenes, Angst, Canon Divergence, Dubious Consent, Explicit Sexual Content, Fix-It of Sorts, M/M, Porn With Plot, Threesome - M/M/M, mild whump, sexual favours
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-23
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2020-03-13 06:08:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18934993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaos_monkey/pseuds/chaos_monkey
Summary: In the aftermath of the battle for Scrim Island, Yularen is suspicious and Eli gets in over his head. Things do not go according to plan for Thrawn as the inevitable confrontation with the Batonn insurgents at the Creekpath mining complex approaches, and he and Eli have to come up with a new plan.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> \- There will be no non-con in this fic, but definite Dub-Con given the circumstances under which consent is given. There will also be suggestions of Abuse of Authority. If any of that squicks you, please don’t read!
> 
> \- Some passages are quoted verbatim from Zahn’s Thrawn novel for context; others have been altered slightly for the story.

 

“I see you’re learning to think tactically,” Yularen said. “The question is, why isn’t Thrawn doing the same?”

“I’m sure he is,” Eli said.

But Yularen was right on all counts. Which left only one reason Eli could think of why the cruisers had been set that far away.

They were Thrawn’s equivalent of traffic zags. Something to slow down a sneak attack by encouraging the raiders to deal with a tempting trio of outlying ships while the _Chimaera_ came to full combat readiness.

Only the bait was helpless… which meant that any attack would instantly degenerate into a slaughter.

Eli felt his throat tighten. Thrawn wouldn’t do something that coldhearted. Surely he wouldn’t.

“Well, I for one can’t see the logic in this one,” Yularen said darkly. “Frankly, I’m concerned. I want you to keep an eye on him.”

Eli hesitated. “What do you mean?”

Yularen considered Eli in silence for a moment before holding out a second data card. “I’ve tapped his comms, but I won’t be here in the event that a… situation does arise. This program will alert you of his calls and give you the option of routing the live audio feed through your datapad.”

Eli stared at him, not taking the card. “What?!”

Yularen sighed. “All I’m saying is that you should keep an eye on things. Nightswan… I’ve had the feeling ever since that first tibanna gas encounter that the man’s gotten under Thrawn’s skin. Deeper, probably, than the admiral would ever admit. With him orchestrating this whole thing, I’m not at all sure how clearly Thrawn’s thinking.”

“He’s thinking just fine,” Eli said firmly. “And whatever he does, it’ll be for the good of the Empire.”

“I hope so,” Yularen said. “Keep an eye on him anyway.”

Eli hesitated again, then took the data card with a short nod. If someone was going to keep an eye on Thrawn, best it be him.

This way, if anything seemingly questionable did come up, Eli would be able to warn Thrawn, or sort it out before the ISB colonel had the chance to act. He knew the admiral better than anyone, much better than anyone else even knew. Yularen obviously had no idea of the nature of their private relationship, to ask him to do this.

With a final, lingering look behind them, Yularen headed into the tunnel.

Eli slipped the second data card into his pad, installing the background program. Once the corvette had left, he headed for the bridge, deep in thought.

He hated to admit it, but he really had worried on more than one occasion about Thrawn’s slow-burning fixation on Nightswan. Even more worrisome was that it actually did seem the long running obsession might be a two-way thing.

If Thrawn _was_ going to make a mistake, it would be when Nightswan was involved.

Eli sighed, frowning. He would watch Thrawn, all right. He would watch everyone.

Because Nightswan was somewhere in the area, with some plan of action already in place.

And as Thrawn himself had already pointed out, the man was quite persuasive.

 

* * *

 

“All right, why not? The northeast field. When?”

“I will be there in one hour,” Thrawn said. “You may arrive at your convenience.”

“One hour,” Nightswan said. “I’ll be there.”

Eli stared down at his datapad, sitting in silence as the comm call went dead.

He had just gotten to his quarters when the new program had put up a silent alert. He’d tuned into the live call as it started, his guilt turning to shock as he listened.

 _What is Thrawn_ thinking, _going down there to meet with Nightswan like this? And why didn’t he tell me?_ Obviously he had a plan, but this was just reckless. Eli didn’t trust Nightswan to keep his word nearly as much as Thrawn apparently did.

And once Yularen got wind of this… The ISB colonel was already suspicious enough after the strange deployment of the damaged cruisers. Eli was certain that if Yularen discovered Thrawn at, or setting up, a clandestine meeting with the _leader_ of the Batonn insurgents, he would find that more than enough reason to bring the admiral up on charges of treason. And the sentence for that charge would _not_ be lenient.

Eli didn’t trust Nightswan or Yularen, but he _did_ trust Thrawn, even if he didn’t know what the admiral was planning.

One way or another, he had to make sure Thrawn came through this. Alive.

 

* * *

 

Nightswan was waiting at the appointed place when Thrawn arrived. “I understood you would wait until my arrival,” Thrawn said.

“I got bored,” Nightswan said. _His voice holds a casual dark humour. His body stance holds tension but also weariness. His facial heat is heightened with a high level of caution._ “Besides, I was curious to see if you’d told me the truth. I really wish you had.”

Thrawn stared in confusion, raising his hands slowly to the sides as a small hold-out blaster appeared in Nightswan’s hand. “I do not understand.”

“You said you would come alone, but then you send your little henchman sneaking in ahead to do what, scout out the place? Set a trap for me? Honestly, I’m disappointed,” Nightswan said. “I really thought I could trust you.”

“I promise you, I do not know what you are referring to,” Thrawn said.

“Sure you don’t,” Nightswan said in a tired voice, then gestured with his head towards the nearby hills, the end of the blaster never wavering and too far away for Thrawn to try and disarm him. “Walk. That way. Any sudden moves, and I won’t hesitate to kill you where you stand.”

Thrawn headed in the direction indicated, Nightswan following behind. After only a minute or so of walking in silence, they rounded the curve of the nearest hill. There was an airspeeder parked there with the silhouette of a figure in the back, the starlight too faint for Thrawn to make out any features.

But once they drew closer, he drew a sharp breath in shock and dismay.

“ _Eli_?”

 

* * *

 

The hood was yanked off his head and Eli blinked in the sudden harsh light, trying to get his bearings.

He was in a small, mostly bare room with Thrawn and Nightswan, and he was still gagged with his hands bound tightly behind his back. Had been ever since the rebel leader got the drop on him on the outskirts of the field.

The hoods had only been added when they approached the camp, though Eli still wasn’t sure why. Probably just to humiliate them.

Nightswan had pulled off Thrawn’s hood too and was loosening the ties around his wrists. The admiral had been bound as well when the two had arrived at the speeder, then thoroughly frisked.

And as he’d done with Eli before leaving him tied up and fuming in the airspeeder, Nightswan had removed Thrawn’s boots, belt, and rank plaque before they left, stowing them out of reach. No doubt due to their stunt with the modified plaque and the rigged blaster on board his Nomad.

Unlike Eli, however, Thrawn hadn’t been gagged, and Eli had listened to their intense exchange the whole ride back to the rebel encampment. His mind was still reeling from it.

Not from the details of Nightswan’s history, their discussion of the Empire’s secret project, or their debate on chaos and order and the ruling of a galaxy. Not even the revelation that Thrawn hadn’t been truly exiled; he had already told Eli about that.

No, it was Thrawn’s offer to secure Nightswan a position with the Chiss Ascendency in return for his surrender here that had shocked Eli. Thrawn had never mentioned any plan of the sort to him. He would assume it had been a bluff to get them free, but… he couldn’t think of any other reason why Thrawn would have come down here to meet Nightswan in secret in the first place.

Nightswan had finished freeing Thrawn’s wrists, and stepped back towards the closed door as his comlink beeped. He answered it, cursing quietly at the crackling static that came through. “Repeat.”

“--- need you ----- -e command bu--er, sir,” came a distorted voice.

“I’ll be right there,” Nightswan said, then looked back at Thrawn and Eli. “Get comfortable. I’ll be back.”

Nightswan no longer had his blaster, only his comlink, and Eli started towards him without thinking.

Thrawn put a restraining arm around him, and Eli stopped, leaning into him with a growl and clenching his sore jaw over the gag in frustration. He had briefly forgotten there was nothing he could do at the moment anyway.

Nightswan laughed darkly, his eyes flickering between them. “There’s really no point to that, Commander Vanto. I’m unarmed, the door can only be opened by my people on the outside, and they will follow their orders not to open it at all if my life is threatened. Just sit tight, I’ll be back soon to figure out what to do with you two.”

“You do not have to do this,” Thrawn said softly, his hand tightening on Eli’s arm, and Eli saw Nightswan’s gaze zero in on the admiral, flicking up and down before settling on his face. “As I told you, I had no hidden intention in meeting with you, only to make you an offer I thought could benefit us both. An offer you would always have been free to decline if you chose. The rest was simply a misunderstanding.”

“Little too late for that,” Nightswan said with another humourless laugh. “I wish it could have been different. I’ve always wished it could have been different, but… Well. We’ve all made our choices, haven’t we.”

He stared at them for a moment, then shook his head once, sharply, before speaking into his comlink. “I’m done here, open up.”

Nightswan turned and left, the door hissing shut behind him with an awful sound of finality.

 


	2. Chapter 2

As soon as Nightswan was gone, Eli staggered back and slumped against the nearest wall. 

Thrawn gently tugged the cloth gag from Eli’s mouth, looking him over with concern. “Are you injured?”

Eli thought he heard the faint sound of another door hissing open and closed again. “No, I’m fine,” he croaked, trying to work some saliva back into his mouth. “Just… pissed off. This is - this is all my fault.” 

“Tell me what happened,” Thrawn said in Sy Bisti as he started working Eli’s hands free. Eli was confused for a second, then caught on - the room could be wired.

Switching to Sy Bisti as well, Eli told him everything. 

About the discussion with Yularen; the tapped comm; the overheard conversation with Nightswan. About his own intention to watch the meeting in the field, to make sure Nightswan didn’t pull any tricks and to have proof for Yularen if necessary that the meeting was all part of Thrawn’s plan to deal with the uprising.

“But I fucked it up,” Eli said. Thrawn had finished freeing him quickly, and was just listening now. 

Unable to meet his eyes, Eli hung his head, angry with himself and ashamed of his failure. “He was there early too, probably even before me. He disarmed me and tied me up, gagged me so I couldn’t warn you. He didn’t believe me when I told him you didn’t even know I was there. I’m - I’m sorry,” he said, his voice cracking.

“Oh, Eli,” Thrawn said, pulling him close, and Eli sobbed once as Thrawn’s arms closed tightly around him. “No, it is I who must apologize for not telling you what I planned. I knew it was unlikely Nightswan would accept my offer and surrender, but I had to make the attempt. I… did not want you to be complicit if it went wrong and I was labeled a traitor.”

After a long moment just holding each other, Eli took a deep breath and got control of himself again. “How are we going to get out of this?”

“That is a very good question,” Thrawn said, looking around. 

Eli looked around again too. They were definitely in a cell of some sort, with nothing but a bench - no, a cot - along the back wall and a… facility with zero privacy in one corner. The small room was clean, at least. 

“Do you think he’ll kill us?” Eli asked. 

Thrawn looked at him for a moment before replying. “That is always a possibility, but I think in this case it is highly unlikely. At worst, he might intend to keep us captive for some sort of trial, which could lead to our eventual execution, but even that is not Nightswan’s style.”

Eli swallowed nervously, and Thrawn continued. “I believe the most likely outcome is that he will keep us here for the duration of the confrontation, possibly as hostages, and release us afterwards. Here or elsewhere.”

Thrawn began pacing slowly, hands clasped behind his back. “But I do not think this situation can end well for anyone if we allow that to happen. I am not certain the tactics I have set in motion will unfold according to plan if I am not there to coordinate them… And there is no guarantee that you and I will actually be released or even kept alive, should Nightswan himself die before this is over.”

“So we need to get out of here, then, and fast.” Eli said, sinking down onto the cot and rubbing at his wrists.

“Yes. Which brings us back to the question of how. Though we could certainly overpower him together, that is not likely to help us escape. In addition, I do not believe Nightswan has divulged our identity to his allies yet. For the time being it would be best if we did nothing to change that.”

Eli looked up sharply. “What makes you think that?”

“The hoods,” Thrawn said. “I doubt they were meant to hide anything from us, given that we were already aware of the exact location of this camp. Nightswan knew that. The more likely explanation is that they were intended to conceal our identity from others. I would guess that he has simply told his people we are captured spies, and that he will deal with us himself.”

“Why would he do that?”

Thrawn looked at him and raised an eyebrow. “How long do you expect an Imperial admiral would survive in a rebel camp if everyone knew he was there?”

Eli huffed out a mirthless laugh, staring around the room and hoping for inspiration. Thrawn had a point, there. 

Though that still didn’t explain just why Nightswan cared so much. Sure, the man had an admirable dedication to minimizing loss of life when possible. Eli could understand that; he felt the same way. But this seemed… almost excessive.

What the hell  _ were  _ they going to do? They’d been stripped of anything useful and were locked in a bare cell in the middle of a camp full of rebels who would most likely shoot them on sight. Even without their uniforms giving them away immediately, Thrawn was hardly what anyone could call unrecognizable.

Their only option was to convince Nightswan to let them go, and damned if Eli could see how they would manage that. Thrawn had already done everything possible to convince the man. 

_ Well… almost everything,  _ Eli thought with a grim chuckle.

“What is funny?” Thrawn asked, looking at him curiously.

Eli blushed. He hadn’t realized he’d laughed out loud. “Nothing, I was just… I was trying to think of ways we could convince Nightswan to just straight-up let us go.”

“Yes?”

“Well, it’s not really important, but… did you notice the way he… looks at you?” Eli asked, feeling a bit ridiculous talking about it, given their serious predicament. 

It  _ was  _ true though, both in the airspeeder and once they had arrived here, Nightswan had kept glancing at Thrawn with a decidedly hungry glint in his eye.

“I did,” Thrawn said thoughtfully, no longer pacing. “He also seemed to suspect that our relationship is not only professional. And he was certainly looking at you with some interest as well.”

“Uh. If you say so. But, I mean… how would any of that help us at all? I can’t really picture him agreeing to ‘hey, we’ll suck your dick if you let us go’,” Eli said, shaking his head with another wry laugh.

Thrawn still had that thoughtful, faraway look he got when he was planning. “What if he did?”

Eli just stared for a second. “Come on… you don’t seriously think…” 

Thrawn finally focused on Eli again, then walked over and sat next to him, putting an arm around him and leaning in close in an unexpectedly intimate gesture.

“Thrawn, what -”

“In the unlikely event there are cameras, or that one of our captors does speak this language,” Thrawn murmured into his ear. 

Eli nodded in understanding, listening intently as he let Thrawn draw him closer, speaking quickly but quietly. “I assumed that if the meeting went badly, Nightswan would remove my rank plaque after we successfully used that trick against him once already. Instead, I brought a localized personal distress beacon that I previously modified to attach to and resemble the button on our uniforms.”

Eli stiffened, opening his mouth to ask why he hadn’t just turned it on already, and Thrawn shushed him with fingers to his lips, ghosting a light kiss just under his ear at the same time.

Right. Appearances. 

Eli swallowed. Kriff, this shouldn’t be so distracting under the circumstances, but… he never could help his response to Thrawn’s touch.

“You heard the interference over the comm?” Thrawn asked, breath warm against Eli’s neck, and Eli hummed a quiet affirmative. “The walls must be lined to dampen any transmissions, and the signal would be far too weak to penetrate them. But if we hid the activated beacon on Nightswan’s person, the signal should be easily picked up by our nearby ground forces the moment he leaves this room.”

Eli’s mind raced through the implications of that. Trying to plant the beacon while staging a physical attack on Nightswan would be difficult, and would make the man immediately suspicious. Possibly even push him towards more drastic actions.

But if Thrawn was right, they might be able to hide it on his clothing while he was… distracted. 

Surely he would still be suspicious if they tried to kriffing  _ seduce  _ him, though.

Eli turned his face up to Thrawn’s as though for a kiss. “Why would he fall for it?” he murmured, meeting Thrawn’s eyes.

Thrawn kissed him for real; then in one smooth move, hoisted Eli up and over to straddle his lap while he did. Eli moaned quietly, involuntarily, as Thrawn’s arms tightened around his back and a warm mouth found his neck. 

“There may be a way to use his preconceptions, and his desires, against him,” Thrawn said. “But it would require some measure of acting on our part.” 

His breath was hot on Eli’s skin as he spoke softly in between kisses and bites, and Eli couldn’t help the quiet hum that left his lips. Sitting where he was on Thrawn’s lap, he could feel how this was starting to affect them both despite their grim situation. 

He tried not to think too hard about just how weird that was. Because if they really went through with this plan, if it actually  _ worked…  _ well, they would have to be convincing anyway. He may as well try to enjoy himself doing it. 

“To be successful, we would have to see it through to the end so that he suspects nothing,” Thrawn continued. “I am willing to try, but I will  _ not  _ ask the same of you. It is your choice. We can watch for a different opportunity.”

His arms around Thrawn’s shoulders, Eli bent his head to Thrawn’s ear. There was one thing making him hesitate. “What if he’s… violent?”

Thrawn’s arms tightened around Eli and there was a long pause.

When Thrawn answered, his voice was fierce, intense without being any louder. “I truly do not expect that of him, but if I am wrong… The human neck can be a fragile structure in the right hands. I will kill him before allowing him to harm you, Eli. Whatever the cost.”

Eli met Thrawn’s eyes, then kissed him, long and deep; trying to pour all his love into that single gesture. 

There was no way to know how soon Nightswan would be back, or when there would be another opportunity to act. On this plan, or any other.

And right now, this plan was the only one they had.

“I’m in. Tell me what we have to do,” he whispered.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Nightswan walked down the short hallway into the holding cell and pulled up short, struck utterly speechless as the inner door auto-locked behind him. 

Both the Imperials were on the cot by the back wall, facing the door… but Vanto was sitting on Thrawn’s lap. 

That in itself wasn't the shocking part, though.

The shocking part was that the smaller human officer had his back against Thrawn’s front, his tunic opened and falling down to bare his arms, and his knees spread wide to the outside of Thrawn’s legs. His eyes were half-lidded, his mouth slack and his head tilted back against the admiral’s shoulder. Thrawn had one arm tight across Vanto’s midsection in a distinctly possessive gesture, rucking his undershirt up to his chest and exposing a lean but muscular stomach. The admiral’s  _ other  _ hand was at Vanto’s crotch, shamelessly cupping him through his uniform trousers.

“What in the  _ hell  _ are you doing?” Nightswan finally managed, still staring.

Glowing red eyes met his as the blue-skinned alien lazily raised his head from where he’d been mouthing at the human’s bare neck. Vanto’s neck and shoulders already bore a number of vivid purple-red bruises.

“I… ‘got bored’,” Thrawn replied with a thin smile. 

Nightswan tried not to notice the blue hands that were still caressing Vanto’s chest and rubbing slowly between his thighs. Vanto himself had briefly roused and met Nightswan’s stare, but had since relaxed back against Thrawn’s chest with his eyes mostly shut once again. He looked… he looked like he was enjoying it. A lot. 

Nightswan tried not to notice that as well, with about the same degree of success. Which was not much. 

“Well - you can stop it right now.”

“Stop?” Thrawn raised an eyebrow. “On the contrary, I was going to invite you to join me.”

“Join you,” Nightswan said flatly, forcing himself to hold the red gaze instead of watching what the admiral was doing to his officer. 

“Indeed. I thought perhaps we might negotiate. I am certain we can come to some arrangement that would benefit us both. I am not averse to… sharing, when the situation calls for such.” The Imperial actually leered at him over Vanto’s shoulder. It was subtle, but unmistakable. 

“What, and he doesn’t get a say in being ‘shared’?”

Thrawn’s shoulders lifted in a minute shrug. “It would not be the first time. He knows his place and is appropriately grateful for it. And he enjoys it as well. Isn’t that right, sweet one?”

The last was murmured into Vanto’s ear, but still loud enough for Nightswan to hear, and the little commander nodded with a soft whimper. He quivered against Thrawn, and Nightswan couldn’t stop himself from glancing down, his gaze getting briefly trapped by the sight of the large blue hand curled around Vanto’s dick, stroking him through the olive-green uniform. 

“Not interested, thanks,” Nightswan ground out.

“Are you not? You may want to inform your body of that fact.” Thrawn smirked at him, red eyes tracking down Nightswan’s body as his hands continued their slow movements over Vanto’s. 

Cursing inwardly, Nightswan managed to stay still and not reach to adjust himself. Now that the blasted Imp had drawn his attention to it, he could feel the way his cock had filled despite himself at the sight of the two in front of him, the nearly full erection pressing against the inside of his pants. 

He tried to ignore it.

Thrawn tilted his head to murmur into Vanto’s ear again, holding Nightswan’s eyes as he did. “What do you think, pet? Does he want to have a taste of your charms?”

Nightswan flushed, his jaw tightening as Vanto’s eyes opened and studied him briefly with a knowing smile. The smaller Imperial caught his lower lip between his teeth and squirmed a bit in Thrawn’s arms, thrusting himself up into the admiral’s hand with a little grunt. “Yes, sir. I think he does.”

“Pet, huh,” Nightswan said to Thrawn, putting as much scorn into his words as he could. Typical Imperial behaviour; they all abused their authority. This sort of thing shouldn't even come as a surprise to him anymore, but he had honestly expected better of Thrawn. 

“Thought you said it wasn’t like that, last time we met,” he said, looking at Vanto instead. He’d asked how it felt to be seen as a house pet to a nonhuman, but kriff, he’d meant it  _ metaphorically.  _ “How can you let him treat you like this?”

Vanto’s smile deepened, but it was Thrawn who answered, his tone mildly amused.

“Enough. Are you really going to stand there and insist you are not interested, when we are both aware that is an extraordinarily obvious lie? Or are we going to discuss terms?” Nightswan said nothing, and Thrawn continued. “My offer is simple. I share my companion with you and in return, you allow us both to leave unharmed.”

Nightswan laughed, incredulous. “And what possible reason could I have for agreeing to that?”

One dark eyebrow raised above red eyes. “Where would you like me to begin? Because you do not want your unarmed prisoners being executed should you not survive the coming conflict. Because my offer of a position with the Ascendency in exchange for a bloodless surrender still stands. Because one way or another I am undeniably your best option for securing the safety of the countless innocent citizens caught in the crossfire, and I cannot accomplish that from this cell.”

There was a pause; then, “And simply because you  _ want  _ to, Nightswan.” 

Nightswan didn’t shiver at the sound of his name on Thrawn’s lips, but it was a near thing. 

Ever since their first encounter aboard the tibanna gas hauler so long ago, and then continuing through their macabre dance of conflict and strategy over the years, he had entertained notions of being the one to show Thrawn the truth of the Empire, of convincing him to switch sides and fight for a good cause instead of on the side of tyranny. 

Those notions had been accompanied by certain… fantasies as well, fantasies about the brilliant and downright stunning Imperial tactician that had never gone away.

Thrawn was continuing, his voice low and relentless. “You want to have not only what is mine, but you want to have me as well. You want to know whether my fascination with you truly mirrors yours with me.” The red eyes seemed to glow brighter at that, and Nightswan swallowed involuntarily. “Yes, I thought that would be of interest to you. You are not the only one who wishes things could have been… different.”

Nightswan couldn't believe he was actually considering the offer. But… at the very least, he would learn what plan Thrawn had in mind to escape. 

Whatever it was wouldn't work anyway, even if he didn’t catch it immediately. There was no way for them to leave this room unless Nightswan decided they would. Even if they tried to use his comlink, the signal would never get far enough to call for help. The lined walls made it difficult enough to get through just to the rest of the camp.

Thrawn was, as usual, right about everything else, though. He  _ was  _ much more likely to show restraint and at least a thread of decency than the other Imperial scum up there right now, and Nightswan  _ didn't  _ want the two killed here. Dying in combat was one thing, but being summarily executed while locked up and disarmed was entirely different.

He had been genuine in his desire to meet with Thrawn and hear what he had to say. Nightswan was even prepared to consider that maybe the admiral hadn’t set him up after all, that Vanto’s presence really had been unplanned. 

And beyond all that… stars help him, he  _ did  _ want it, just like Thrawn said. 

It was wrong, he knew it was was wrong. 

But he still wanted it. Desperately.

“You forget one thing. If you knew me as well as you think you do, you’d know I wouldn’t take advantage of someone. Not even a pretty little _Imp_ like him,” Nightswan sneered. “I’m not that kind of person. You can’t just use someone like that, force them. It isn’t right.”

Thrawn smiled. “Am I forcing him when he chooses his role? Enjoys it?”

Nightswan’s eyes slid to Vanto again, almost of their own accord. 

Throughout the entire conversation, Thrawn hadn’t let up on the young commander for even a moment. Vanto was flushed, panting a little by now, and there was no doubt he was aroused given the stiff shape of his cock that Thrawn’s fingers were still wrapped around through his pants. 

Swallowing hard, Nightswan wondered if the admiral was in the same state under Vanto’s ass.

Vanto smirked, tongue flickering out to wet his lips as he stared back at Nightswan through heavy-lidded eyes. “Why don’t I show him, sir?”

Kriff. He should leave. He should leave right now.

Bottom lip between his teeth again, still smiling, Vanto got slowly to his feet. Thrawn let him go with one last bite where bare neck became bare shoulder and then gazed at Nightswan with a hint of a smile on his lips, the red eyes burning across the room and boring into him.

Rooted to the spot, Nightswan stared back at Thrawn as Vanto approached, shrugging his tunic the rest of the way off and pulling his bunched-up undershirt over his head as he did, letting them both fall to the floor in a trail behind him.

The Imperial stopped just in front of him, so close Nightswan could smell him, could feel a hint of the heat radiating off his half-naked body. He couldn’t suppress a shiver when Vanto raised a hand and started trailing his fingers down Nightswan’s chest and over his stomach.

Nightswan’s breath quickened as Vanto sank to his knees in front of him, no longer blocking his view of Thrawn. The admiral was definitely hard too, and he was blatantly, slowly rubbing himself over top of his uniform trousers as he watched from the cot, lounging back against the wall and still wearing that tiny smile.

With a little sound in the back of his throat, Vanto started mouthing at Nightswan’s cock through his pants. The pressure and the movement and the warmth of his breath seeping through the thick material pulled a groan from Nightswan’s own throat before he realized it was even there. Thrawn’s smile deepened, and he finally stood up as well, walking - no,  _ prowling  _ \- across the short distance between them and pressing himself up against Nightswan’s side. 

Nightswan could feel the hard heat of Thrawn’s erection against his hip, the warmth of Thrawn’s breath on his neck as the admiral dropped his hand down to twine in Vanto’s hair. 

“Stop,” Thrawn said softly, and Vanto stilled, obediently pulling back from Nightswan’s now achingly hard prick. 

Nightswan’s hips twitched forward before he could stop himself, chasing the warmth of that mouth as it left him.

“Do we have a deal?” Thrawn asked.

  
  



	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short smutty chapter for your Monday because I am too impatient to wait and finish one long smutty chapter for another day.
> 
> Huge thanks to MotherRameses / Jewelliffer for the beta and the help getting past a bit of a block!

_No!_ came the answer from some small part of Nightswan’s brain that was still thinking rationally.

“ _Yes_ ,” he hissed through his teeth instead, drowning out the unwanted little voice of reason in the back of his head.

“You will release us both, unharmed? In _all_ ways?” Thrawn asked with a meaningful look down at Vanto.

“Don’t worry, I won’t damage your little _toy_ ,” Nightswan ground out. “I’m not a monster like some. You have my word; you’ll both be released unharmed.”

Thrawn smiled. “Good,” he said, nudging Vanto’s head forward until his face was pressed into Nightswan’s crotch again. “Then we have an agreement.”

Nightswan groaned as he felt Vanto start working at him again immediately, mouth opening over the head of his cock where it strained out against his pants, hands slipping up the front of his thighs. Thrawn was still watching him with a smile on his lips, and Nightswan fisted a hand in the front of the Imperial’s tunic, pulling him even closer, looking up into the glowing red eyes.

“You said both of you.” It came out as more of a question than he’d meant it to.

“I did,” Thrawn answered, and Nightswan gave another tug, closing the last of the tiny gap between them until their lips met.

It was a kiss, but there was nothing soft or tender about it. It was harsh and demanding on both sides, all sharp teeth and sharper movements. It was hungry, _wanting._ It was years of desire and frustration and, yes, anger, crystallized into one moment, and for a second or a minute or maybe an eon Nightswan couldn’t breathe for wanting more.

His hand was on Thrawn’s stiff cock without him even realizing he’d moved it there, under the long Imperial tunic, squeezing, and Thrawn thrust up against his palm with a choked-off growl deep in his throat.

Nightswan felt Vanto’s hands moving to his belt, unbuckling it before starting on his fly, and he finally pulled back from Thrawn’s mouth, panting as he looked down. The admiral’s hand was still at the back of Vanto’s head, fingers twined tightly in his hair.

“You will not be disappointed,” Thrawn murmured, and Nightswan looked back up at him sharply. “He is _very_ good.”

“Shut up,” Nightswan snarled, covering Thrawn’s mouth with his again to do it for him, to wipe the all too knowing smirk off those lips while he felt Vanto tugging his pants partway down his hips.

Thrawn’s free hand slipped around his lower back in an unsettlingly pleasant parody of intimacy, and Nightswan yanked open the sealing strip of Thrawn’s tunic with both hands, breaking one of the clasps as he did. Thrawn’s hard length pressed up against his hip again, and a guttural moan crawled up Nightswan’s throat as Vanto pulled him free at the same time, one hand warm on his cock in the cool air and the other sliding around to the back of his thigh.

A tremor running through him, Nightswan grunted against Thrawn’s mouth and bit back another moan as Vanto’s lips closed around the head of his cock; mouth hot and wet, tongue slick, grip firm at the base of his shaft.

Thrawn let Nightswan push his open tunic over his shoulders, shrugging out of it in one quick motion before returning his hands to Vanto’s hair and Nightswan’s back, this time slipping up under his shirt. Nightswan shivered at the touch; then hissed as Thrawn’s teeth found his neck, burrowing in under his loose, high collar.

Breathing hard, Nightswan tilted his head back and briefly closed his eyes, nearly overwhelmed by the rush of sensations. Thrawn’s breath humid on his skin; teeth sharp; dick hot and hard and grinding slowly against his hip while Vanto stroked him steadily, lips and tongue working him over and sucking just at the head of his cock.

_Thrawn was right… he’s really fucking good._

Nightswan pushed the thought away with a groan. Twisting awkwardly, he reached down and fumbled Thrawn’s pants open, then slid one hand inside them and wrapped his fingers loosely around the admiral’s thick cock. Thrawn let out a low moan against his neck as Nightswan stroked him, hand running up and down over the velvety soft skin that covered rock hard heat.

Thrawn was surprisingly… wet, and Nightswan twisted his palm over the head of the Imperial’s cock, using the slickness to jerk him harder.

“Enjoying yourself quite a bit already, I see,” Nightswan grated, trying to control his breathing. His toes were curling in his boots, Vanto was sucking his dick so well, even though he’d barely started working his mouth down past the head. That tongue of his should be kriffing _illegal._

Thrawn actually _hissed_ out a breath, but his hips bucked up into Nightswan’s grip as he did. “Do not flatter yourself. It is a physiological difference between our species.”

Right. Nonhuman. Nightswan had somehow forgotten that part, in spite of the deep blue skin of Thrawn’s bare arms and neck currently on display, the glowing red eyes that had pulled back to glare at him.

Vanto suddenly changed his approach, drawing all of him down into wet heat until Nightswan felt his cockhead pushing down the back of the little Imperial’s tight throat. His eyes fluttered half shut and his knees almost buckled, it felt so good, but he managed to hold Thrawn’s gaze through it.

“Pity… would you like it better if I fucked you instead, Thrawn?” he asked, the admiral’s name coming out as a gasp when Vanto deepthroated him again without warning, this time actually holding him there and swallowing _around_ his cock.

He had meant it as more of an offhanded dig at the Imperial than anything else, trying to distract himself from Vanto’s incredible mouth with their weird fucking banter before he blew his load too soon.

But to Nightswan’s surprise he felt Thrawn’s cock twitch in response, jerking suddenly in his hand. Thrawn’s jaw tightened, the red eyes widening ever so slightly.

 _Kriff._ He _would._ Would he?

Nightswan tightened his grip, slippery precome trickling down his fingers as he pumped Thrawn’s prick slowly up and down.

“Tell me,” he breathed; then shuddered, unable to hold back a long moan this time as Vanto went back to sucking him, harder and deeper than before. His cock was popping out briefly from between those lips on every stroke, wet and throbbing in the cool air, before plunging back in, riding along the slick heat of Vanto’s tongue.

Thrawn hissed again, but this time the sound was unmistakably in the shape of a drawn-out _‘Yes’._

“Better tell your commander to stop, then,” Nightswan said, panting. With Vanto’s mouth still sliding up and down his cock, hand pressed flat around the base of his shaft, the added thought of burying himself inside Thrawn was pushing him closer and closer to the edge way too fast. “You can fuck him while I have you, if you want.”

Nightswan had almost just _told_ Thrawn to do that, because kriff, did he ever want to see it… watch the admiral driving in and out of his pretty little officer with his ass tight around Nightswan’s own cock… but he wasn’t quite so far gone with lust he’d stoop to ordering anyone around against their will.

He groaned again, looking down as Thrawn pulled Vanto’s mouth off his dick with an obscenely wet sound, lips slick and red. He’d sort out the massive grey areas of the whole thing with his own blasted conscience later and deal with the consequences then.

 

* * *

 

Thrawn sank down onto the small cot with Eli and Nightswan in a tangle of limbs, lying half on his back and half on his side with one knee bent up, sandwiched between Eli at his front and Nightswan behind him. Somehow they all managed to fit, though a small part of his mind wondered if it was going to collapse under their combined weight.

Another small part of his mind was attempting to analyze his own reaction to Nightswan. Thrawn had been prepared and willing to offer himself to the rebel leader in Eli’s place; had been planning to, if he had wanted more than a mouth for his pleasure.

He had not anticipated his own body’s eager response to Nightswan’s kiss, or the desire that had flared within him at Nightswan’s touch; at his question. He had not expected to _want_ this; to want more. To want _him._

Thrawn pushed it all away to be dealt with later. For now, the majority of his attention was focused on making sure this was not becoming too much for Eli, who was half on top of him with one leg thrown over his own. _His breathing is shallow and his pupils are dilated, but he is still erect, indicating arousal rather than fear. The pattern of increased heat to his face and body is also consistent with arousal, and he has not used the code phrase to signal discomfort with the situation._

Slipping his arms up Eli’s back, Thrawn pulled him in for a kiss. Fiery jitters of mixed pain and pleasure were sparking along his nerves as Nightswan bit and suckled a trail down his neck and over his shoulder, working his pants and underclothes off at the same time and shifting down the thin mattress next to him.

Eli melted into Thrawn’s arms as they kissed, grinding up against his hip with a soft whimper against his lips. As Nightswan moved further down, tugging Thrawn’s clothing off and tossing it aside, Thrawn nuzzled into Eli’s neck, nipping at his earlobe. “You do not have to,” he breathed as softly as he could so Nightswan would not overhear.

“I want - please, sir, I want you,” Eli moaned, thrusting harder against him. Thrawn trembled as Nightswan’s teeth sank into his other hip at the same time, hand curling around his cock and lifting it up off his belly.

Pulling back, Thrawn searched Eli’s eyes. That definitely was not the code phrase, which meant Eli was… willing.

Perhaps he should have tried to press further to be absolutely certain, but he was having difficulty remaining focused as Eli kissed him with a needy whimper in the back of his throat, tugging his undershirt up while Nightswan’s mouth closed over his throbbing erection and drew him hungrily down into wet heat.

Thrawn gave up questioning it all and allowed Eli to pull the garment off over his head before kissing him again, groaning with need as Nightswan ran slick fingers over his entrance and a slick tongue over his cock.

 


	5. Chapter 5

Yanking Thrawn’s undershirt off, Eli threw it to the side and covered Thrawn’s mouth with his again, feeling as much as hearing his deep groan in response to whatever it was Nightswan was doing to him at the moment. Thrawn was awkwardly fumbling one-handed at the fastenings of Eli’s uniform trousers, his movements urgent; almost frantic, and Eli reached down to help him, panting against Thrawn’s lips as he shoved his pants down to wriggle out of them.

Eli wasn’t sure why he even wanted this so bad. He’d accomplished his task easily - the activated beacon was secured inside Nightswan’s pants where he shouldn’t see it or feel it unless he was actively looking for it, and the rebel had been so completely distracted by them both that Eli was certain he hadn’t noticed a thing.

His job was done; all he had to do was signal to Thrawn that he’d had enough, and Thrawn would find a way to leave him out of the rest of… this.

But whether it was the way Thrawn had worked him up so much beforehand, or the way Thrawn was obviously _very_ into it, or maybe even the way Nightswan was being surprisingly restrained and not taking advantage of the situation nearly as much as others might have, Eli didn’t know. Maybe it was all of those things. All he did know was that right now he didn’t _want_ to be left out of the rest of this.

Because whatever the reason, the whole thing was way hotter than it should have been, and Eli just couldn’t bring himself to care that he really shouldn’t be _liking_ it so kriffing much.

Kicking off the last of his clothes, Eli groaned with relief as Thrawn took him in hand, his cock aching from being turned on for so long without being properly touched. Thrawn pulled him in for another deep kiss with a hand on the back of his neck; then let him go as Eli moved to trail his lips down the admiral’s jaw and neck to his chest in a series of licks and nips and kisses.

Eli sucked at Thrawn’s nipple briefly, drawing a shiver from him; then twisted around on the bed to face the other way on all fours. He couldn’t help whimpering slightly when Thrawn had to let go of his dick while he moved around, but he’d barely finished his maneuver when Thrawn’s warm hand ran up the inside of his thigh and closed around him again, pumping his cock slowly from behind and pulling a soft gasp of pleasure from his throat.

Nightswan was still clothed, looking up at Eli from between Thrawn’s open legs with one hand at the base of Thrawn’s shaft. As Eli watched him back, hesitant, Nightswan brought his other hand up from Thrawn’s ass and worked it over the slippery head of his cock.

“He just keeps… leaking like this?” Nightswan asked with a tiny smirk, voice soft and husky.

Eli nodded, not quite trusting himself to speak, trembling as Thrawn kept stroking him. Nightswan’s smirk deepened, tongue running over his teeth as he reached down again, fingers slicked in Thrawn’s own precome.

Thrawn jolted, bucking under Eli with a sharp moan as the rebel leader worked a finger into his ass and started fucking him with it, other hand still holding his rigid, twitching cock up off his stomach. Nightswan had bunched up the bedding under Thrawn’s hips at some point, raising them up off the mattress, and from his vantage point Eli could see… everything.

Crawling a little further forward, he leaned down and circled his tongue over the head of Thrawn’s cock above Nightswan’s slowly pumping fist, the rebel’s low, humming chuckle making his ears burn as he flushed with mixed embarrassment and arousal.

As Eli took Thrawn further into his mouth, Thrawn’s familiar taste flooding his tongue, Nightswan paused and then shoved a second finger inside the admiral. Thrawn bucked again with a grunt, up into Eli’s mouth, his grip tightening around Eli’s dick.

Eli whimpered again when Thrawn let go of him; then pulled up when Thrawn nudged him out of the way and fisted his hand over the tip of his own cock for a moment before reaching back to run now-slippery fingers over Eli’s hole, the touch sending hot shivers of pleasure dancing through him.

Nightswan was still holding Thrawn’s cock up for him and Eli filled his mouth with it again, the hard, slick length muffling his moans at Thrawn slipping inside him.

He could still see the rebel leader’s fingers sliding back and forth just in front of him, opening Thrawn up as he did the same to Eli, and Eli knew it the moment that Nightswan found just the right spot inside him. Eli and Thrawn had learned very early on that the Chiss equivalent of a prostate was larger and… more readily accessible than a human’s, and Nightswan had apparently just discovered the same.

Thrawn shuddered with a gasp, thrusting up again, and Nightswan let out a pleased-sounding hum, shifting upright to sit back on his heels without stopping, moving his other hand off Thrawn and over to his own cock instead where it was jutting up out of his open pants, stiff and flushed dark red.

Wrapping his hand around Thrawn’s cock to replace Nightswan’s, Eli quivered as Thrawn worked him up to two fingers and pushed himself backwards onto Thrawn’s hand with a groan, wanting more. Letting Thrawn pretty much fuck his mouth, drooling spit and precome down his shaft, Eli saw Nightswan add a third finger, stretching Thrawn open even more and still working at that sweet spot if the admiral’s short, panting moans were anything to go by.

Thrawn’s motions were getting jerkier, his stomach tensing spastically with tremors as Eli sucked his cock and Nightswan finger-fucked his ass. Knowing he was about to hit his first orgasm, Eli pulled up a bit, tightening his grip and pumping Thrawn hard until he came just a few seconds later, spurting over Eli’s tongue with a half-strangled groan and a shudder.

 

* * *

 

Nightswan nearly came into his own hand when Thrawn jerked suddenly, tightening around his fingers and spattering streaks of white up into Vanto’s open mouth. Stilling his hand, Nightswan groaned at the sight of Vanto letting Thrawn’s come drip back down out of his mouth and all over the other Imperial’s cock while Thrawn twitched under him.

He was just thinking ruefully that he hadn’t actually meant to finish Thrawn off so soon when he belatedly noticed that although Vanto had slowed and raised himself up on one arm, he wasn’t actually stopping. He kept on jerking Thrawn’s still-hard dick with one hand, panting as he rocked himself back and forth, Thrawn obviously still working at him from behind.

Nightswan’s cock twitched in his hand, the realization dawning that apparently the admiral could keep going. _Oh shit, that’s hot. And unfair. And hot._

Thrawn was as open from his fingers as Nightswan could get him, now. He hesitated briefly, more than a little torn between wanting to hurry up and bury his aching cock in Thrawn’s ass already, while also wanting to put it off because he knew he wasn’t going to last all that long once he was actually in there.

Desire quickly won out and Nightswan pulled his fingers out, feeling absurdly pleased with himself when Thrawn bit off a quiet sound of dismay, looking down at him with another fiery red glare that probably would have been frightening in any other context but right now was just incredibly arousing.

He quickly wiped his hand clean on a corner of the bedding before climbing to his feet to strip out of his clothes and boots, watching as Thrawn turned his head to mouth at Vanto’s thigh, leaving a mark and pulling a squeak from the commander. Vanto looked absolutely wrecked from what Thrawn was doing to him, rocking back and forth on his hands and knees, oozing a thread of precome onto the bed, gasping and sweaty and glassy-eyed with one hand still tight around Thrawn’s cock but barely moving it anymore.

Breath quickening again with anticipation, Nightswan climbed back onto the cot. He pushed the admiral’s legs open further and knelt upright between them, sitting on his heels with his legs spread wide under Thrawn’s thighs; then gripped the base of his own shaft and rubbed his cockhead over Thrawn’s entrance. Thrawn was still open, still a little slippery, and he gasped, hips bucking up into it as Nightswan pressed the very tip of his dick in and out of that dark, purple-blue hole.

Nightswan pumped his other fist up and down Thrawn’s cock over Vanto’s hand and then pulled back just enough to coat himself in the mixture of semen and spit and precome that felt as slick as any actual lube he’d ever used, letting his knuckles tease across Thrawn’s asshole while he did.

Lining himself up, lightheaded and almost panting already just from the knowledge that he was about to fuck Thrawn with his own come, Nightswan pressed the swollen tip of his cock to Thrawn’s entrance again. Raising his head, he met glowing red eyes and paused; then pushed forward; and Thrawn shuddered, grunting as Nightswan breached him, sinking into his slick heat with a shivering groan. Next to him, Vanto jolted on the admiral’s hand with a gasp, eyes only half open but fixed down, watching Nightswan’s dick disappearing inside Thrawn.

Once he felt Thrawn start relaxing around him, Nightswan looked down, pulling back slowly until he saw the head of his cock pop back out of Thrawn’s tight hole. With a moan, he pushed back in again, panting hard as he watched Thrawn stretching open to take him.

Finally letting go of his own dick as he sank it deeper inside Thrawn, Nightswan took the Imperial by the hips instead and started fucking him in a slow, steady rhythm, the sight before him searing into his mind, better than anything he'd ever imagined.

Thrawn was kriffing gorgeous, mouth open, breathing hard, grunts and gasps falling from his lips with Nightswan’s thrusts. The glare was gone, replaced by naked desire, red eyes half-lidded but still burning through him. The admiral’s stomach and chest were sheened in sweat, muscles flexing under that deep blue skin as Thrawn moved in time with him. Vanto’s lithe form was nearly writhing beside Thrawn in what looked like truly exquisite agony, shoulders down and ass up, his back arched, sweat-damp hair falling over his face as he whimpered incoherently.

Trembling slightly from the effort of holding back, of keeping a slow pace as he sank himself a little further into Thrawn’s ass on every thrust, Nightswan took the admiral’s cock in his hand again, stroking and squeezing. Thrawn let out a strained groan, his hips bucking between Nightswan’s hand and cock, and he shifted, pulling his fingers out of Vanto to squeeze the commander’s leg.

Vanto immediately twisted around, climbing on top of Thrawn to straddle him, knees spread wide, Thrawn’s hands coming up to take the commander’s hips in a tight grip. Nightswan ran a hand up Vanto’s thigh and the Imperial quivered but didn’t pull away.

One hand slowly pumping Thrawn’s stiff prick and the other on Vanto’s firm ass, Nightswan guided him down until Thrawn’s slick cockhead slipped just inside his open, reddened hole. The sight coupled with Vanto’s gasp and Thrawn’s deep groan sent a wave of desire crashing through Nightswan, leaving him lightheaded and panting even though he’d stilled his hips, and he could feel his cock twitching, throbbing with his pulse where it was half buried in Thrawn’s tight heat.

His hand still wrapped around Thrawn, Nightswan gave a short tug with a twist of his wrist, snapping his hips forward sharply at the same time so he was buried as deep as he could go, and Thrawn made a strangled sound, bucking up and driving his cock upwards and into Vanto’s asshole.

Vanto cried out, trembling, pushing himself down into it until his ass hit Nightswan’s hand, Thrawn’s cock buried halfway inside him already and looking as though it should just split him clear in two. Thrawn shuddered, thrusting convulsively up into his commander, prick throbbing in Nightswan’s tight grip and ass clenching around him in spasms that seemed to be trying to pull him in deeper.

_Kriff, he - did he -_

Vanto raised himself up just off of Thrawn’s cock, dribbles of come spilling back out of him to run down Thrawn’s cock and over Nightswan’s fingers. Nightswan just stared, open-mouthed and panting, frozen in place with blood roaring in his ears and desire roaring in his core, as Vanto slid back down to impale himself on Thrawn again with a loud moan.

Moving his hands over to grip Thrawn's hips with a strangled curse, Nightswan pulled back to thrust in again, picking up a faster rhythm than before. Sweat was trickling down his spine, stinging in his eyes as he drove in and out of Thrawn, completely beyond trying to hold himself back. In front of him, Vanto had one hand on his own cock, his arm jerking frantically, gasping and moaning as Thrawn sank to the hilt inside him over and over.

Nightswan couldn’t tell if it was Vanto fucking himself on Thrawn, or Thrawn lifting Vanto bodily by the hips before slamming him back down, and he didn’t really care as he pounded faster into Thrawn’s ass, snapping his hips up and forward, Thrawn somehow still clenching rhythmically around his cock.

Vanto came with a keening wail before long, collapsing forward onto Thrawn as he shuddered, crying out in gasps and shaking from head to toe. Nightswan leaned forward over him with a desperate growl, planting one fist on the bed and fucking into Thrawn as hard and fast as he could, balls drawn up tight and slapping against Thrawn’s ass on every thrust, white-hot tension coiling higher inside him until he peaked with a shout only moments after Vanto, orgasm flooding through him like a burst dam as his cock pulsed and twitched inside Thrawn, filling him with wave after wave of come.

Gasping, head spinning from the intense release, Nightswan half-collapsed down onto Vanto’s back in turn, feeling the commander trembling and twitching between him and Thrawn.

Thrawn’s face was buried in Vanto’s neck, his ass still squeezing and releasing around Nightswan’s now over-sensitive cock, his hips still thrusting as he let out muffled but increasingly desperate-sounding gasping moans.

“Fucking _hell,_ you’re still not done?” Nightswan managed in a raw voice, reaching down between them, too wobbly to try and work himself upright again yet.

Pulling out with no small amount of regret, he twisted his shoulder down a little and drove his fingers straight back into Thrawn instead, easily finding his prostate and drawing a gravelly cry and a shudder from the admiral. Thrawn planted his feet and slipped his hands under Nightswan to wrap around Vanto’s waist, fucking up into his officer hard and fast as Nightswan fingered him, still panting, muttering semi-coherent obscenities at the feel of his own come covering his hand while he rubbed at that structure inside Thrawn.

Thrawn came _again_ with strangled, wordless howl, hips stuttering as he buried his cock to the base in Vanto’s ass, tremors wracking his whole body as he clenched hard, harder than before, spasming on Nightswan’s fingers.

His arm aching and his hand cramping, Nightswan tried to catch his breath. He slowly pushed himself up to his knees with a groan, hearing Thrawn’s panting breaths hitch as he pulled his fingers back out of the admiral’s ass. Vanto was twitching and breathing hard too, still stuffed full of Thrawn’s cock, and there was beep from somewhere on the floor.

Nightswan froze and blinked in confusion, mind still fuzzy.

His comlink beeped again, and awareness of his surroundings flashed back in a rush. Nightswan scrambled off the cot and almost fell over on shaky legs.

“Fuck - _fuck_ -”

_Where the hell are my pants?_

Looking around frantically, he spotted them, remembering just in time to turn back and wipe his hands as best he could on the bedding again before fumbling in his pockets and pulling out his comlink.

“What?” he asked, hoping his unsteady breathing and hoarse voice would be unnoticeable through the shitty connection.

“-- ev-r---ing --lright? We -eed y-- -ut here s--n.”

Nightswan flushed. “Copy that. I’m almost done here.”

“Yes, s-” came the response, and Nightswan thumbed the connection back off before they even finished.

He shoved the comlink back in his pocket and started tugging the various bits of his clothing back on as fast as he could, trying and failing to ignore the other two as they disentangled themselves and sat up.

The cot was a disaster, and Thrawn in particular wasn’t much better, covered in sweat and come from all three of them. Both Imperial officers were completely disheveled, wild-haired and wild-eyed with slightly glazed looks, lips swollen from kissing and more.

It was completely obvious to anyone with half a brain what they’d just been doing for the last… who knew how long, and Nightswan thought he probably didn’t look much better.

_Shit… oh, shit._

Fully dressed once he’d stomped back into his boots, Nightswan ran a hand through his hair and froze again, something lurching inside him when he met Thrawn’s steady gaze. Even with shame and slight panic flooding through him, he realized he still couldn’t bring himself to regret what he’d just done.

He didn’t know if that made him feel better or worse about it.

 

* * *

 

“You will release us now,” Thrawn said, standing up, one hand resting on Eli’s shoulder.

“What - _now_ _?_ Are you nuts?” Nightswan asked. _His eyes widen in shock and his hand drops back to his side._ “Have you _looked_ at yourself?”

Thrawn glanced down briefly. He was admittedly a mess, covered in fluids, his erection only slowly abating. Eli was coated in sweat, the skin of his upper body still flushed and decorated with the deep red marks Thrawn had left on him.

“Once we have cleaned this off and dressed, of course,” Thrawn amended.

Nightswan was already shaking his head. “No. Look, just… get cleaned up, there’s water. It’s drinkable, too. I’ll be back after I’ve taken care of a few things. Nobody else will come in, I’ll make sure of it.”

Thrawn took a small step forward. “You gave me your word.”

“And I intend to keep it,” Nightswan snapped, voice harsh. “I said I would release you unharmed, and I will. It’s not my problem if you didn’t think to specify when that would be.” _His body stance holds shame and his tone holds guilt, but neither suspicion nor deception._

Letting his hands clench into fists, Thrawn stepped forward again and Nightswan held up his comlink warningly. “I can have armed guards here in about five seconds.” He swallowed hard before adding, “Don’t do anything we’ll both regret.”

“Sir, don’t,” Eli pleaded from behind Thrawn, grabbing hold of his wrist.

Nightswan moved towards the door without taking his eyes off them, stepping carefully past the clothes on the floor. “I _will_ let you both go free, I swear it. But… I can’t pass up the opportunity to try and keep things from going to hell for my people out there, with you not running the show on your end. I hadn’t actually expected to survive this one myself, but maybe we have a chance now.”

It appeared their plan would be successful. Thrawn tried not to think about why he felt disappointment rather than satisfaction. He had not actually expected Nightswan to release them immediately, after all - one of their worries with the plan had in fact been that Nightswan would notice and become suspicious when Thrawn failed to mention timing in his ‘deal’.

Thrawn stared at Nightswan in silence as the rebel leader stopped in front of the door, running a hand through his hair again and raising his comlink.

“Open it. I’m on my way.” The door hissed open and Nightswan started to back through it, then hesitated, meeting Thrawn’s eyes again. “I… I’m sorry,” he said, regret in his voice, and then he was gone.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in a reality where STIs aren’t a concern because bacta and space-medicine. Just for the record.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, there are bits taken directly from Zahn's Thrawn novel, and some stuff is based on passages from the novel but altered.

Eli was curled up on his side, lost in thought with one hand and his head resting on Thrawn’s lap and Thrawn’s hand stroking comfortingly through his hair.

After Nightswan left, they’d used the sheets from the cot and some water from the tiny washbasin to clean up before getting dressed again; then dumped the bedding on the floor in the corner and settled down on the bare mattress to wait.

It seemed that the whole thing had gone off without a hitch. If you didn’t count the fact that they’d both gotten unexpectedly… caught up in it, that is.

To his surprise, Eli was feeling okay himself, all things considered. Maybe it would hit him harder later on, but at the moment he was more worried about the admiral than himself. Thrawn had assured Eli he would be all right, but he was definitely a little unsettled, his thoughts turned inwards.

Eli didn’t press him further. He knew Thrawn would talk to him when he was ready, and now wasn’t really the time anyway.

They had talked very little since Nightswan left, to be on the safe side; and they hadn’t talked about the plan itself at all. It wasn’t worth the risk of ruining everything when they seemed to be so close to success, even though it was extremely unlikely that anyone was actually watching or listening.

Nightswan had apparently believed their act, so they must have both played their roles well enough right through to the end. Up to and including Thrawn’s show of anger and Eli pleading with him not to do anything.

Eli had been a little worried that the rebel leader would spot the small button-like beacon when he was getting dressed again, but Nightswan had been in such a rush to leave that he probably wouldn’t have noticed if there’d been a kriffing mynock hiding in his pants.

Now, they just had to be patient. Thrawn had been confident that the distress call would be picked up immediately, but they couldn’t know how long it would actually take to mount a response; to storm the rebel stronghold and find them.

Eli wasn’t sure how much time had actually passed since Nightswan had first brought them to their cell, but it couldn’t have been more than a couple of hours. Long enough that their absence would have been noted, their troops on alert and searching; but with any luck, not so long that they wouldn’t be found in time for Thrawn to take charge of the Imperial forces from the _Chimaera_ before the confrontation started in earnest.

Except… their rescue would be the very thing that did start off the confrontation in earnest.

Eli frowned at that thought, not sure how it hadn’t occurred to him until now.

He was trying to think of a way to ask Thrawn how this was likely to affect the situation on a bigger scale without giving anything away to potential listeners, when he thought he felt the room… shiver, and the admiral suddenly tensed.

Eli sat up immediately, ears straining, hardly daring to breathe. They stayed like that, listening, for several long, agonizing minutes until -

“Blaster fire,” Thrawn said, and they jumped to their feet, moving to opposite sides of the door with their backs to the wall.

A second later, Eli heard a nearby explosion, followed by the muffled sound of clomping boots approaching. He and Thrawn both backed away along the wall, and then the edge of the door lit up with bright sparks, forcing Eli to look away and shield his eyes with one hand.

The fiery light died down again, the door was forced open, and two stormtroopers burst into the room with blaster rifles drawn.

“Colonel Yularen, this is Unit Three reporting in. We’ve got them both. Preparing for extraction.”

Eli sighed with relief and the trooper who’d called it in nodded to Thrawn and Eli in turn.

“Good to see you alive, Admiral. Commander. Let’s get you out of here.”

 

* * *

 

“Status report, Colonel,” Thrawn said as Yularen fell into place beside him and Eli, their stormtrooper escort peeling off to rejoin the battle now that they were safely behind Imperial lines.

“The _Chimaera_ came under attack not long after we picked up your signal,” Yularen said. “Fortunately, the captains of the cruisers informed Commander Faro of the hidden TIE fighters from the _Judicator_ as well as your strict instructions to wait until the enemy ships had passed by before releasing them.” _His facial heat increases slightly and he glances sideways at Eli. His body stance and tone hold embarrassment._

Ah. It would seem the Colonel’s fears concerning the placement of the damaged cruisers were finally allayed. “The attack was successfully countered, then?” was all Thrawn said.

“Yes, sir,” Yularen replied.

“What of Governor Pryce and Agent Gudry?” Thrawn asked.

“The governor returned with her parents and without Gudry,” Yularen said. _His expression darkens with suspicion and frustration._ “Gudry was able to mine both the shield generator and a large cache of explosives they discovered, but we haven’t heard a word from him since he confirmed placing the charges and going to look for Pryce.”

“Going to _look_ for Governor Pryce?”

“Yes, sir. He said he would check her parents’ house first, and the governor insists she knew Gudry would come find her there.” _He shakes his head, his scowl deepening. His tone holds disbelief._ “Apparently they did meet up at the house but were attacked before they could leave. Pryce says Gudry gave her his comm with the detonation signals and stayed back to hold off the attackers, giving her and her parents a head start to escape, but then never re-joined them.”

“I see,” Thrawn said. He would have to speak to Pryce about this himself. “Have the house and surrounding area checked out once the complex is secure.”

Yularen nodded sharply. “I was planning to.”

Thrawn glanced up. There was no telltale haze in the air. “I presume that the shield _is_ offline.”

“Yes, sir,” Yularen said again. “After the governor returned, we took out the shield and then set off the explosives cache as a diversion while sending teams in to the area where your distress signal was first picked up.”

“And is the beacon still active?” Thrawn asked.

“No, sir,” Yularen said. “The signal disappeared shortly after we began our attack on the base.”

“A pity,” Thrawn said thoughtfully. Nightswan must have figured out what they had done and destroyed or disabled the beacon. “What is the current state of the ground assault?”

“We’re still encountering heavy resistance in some areas of the complex, and the insurgents’ air support is causing problems. But once the _Chimaera_ is done mopping up the last of the enemy ships out there, those ground fighters will no longer be an issue.”

“Very good,” Thrawn said as they reached their transport. The unarmed freighter he came down in would return after the fighting was over. “Commander Vanto and I will return to the _Chimaera_ at once. You will continue coordinating our forces on the ground. And Colonel?”

“Sir?”

“Any rebels who surrender are to be taken prisoner and unarmed civilians are not to be harmed. Is that clear?” Thrawn said.

“Yes, sir. I’ll make sure of it,” Yularen said. He strode briskly away, already speaking into his comm as he left.

 

* * *

 

Eli sat quietly through the debrief, listening to the others and taking notes on his datapad.

“Enemy casualties were successfully limited to the insurgents within the cordoned-off area of the mining compound. As far as we can tell, the vast majority of the rebels were either killed or captured, and we only lost a small number of troops ourselves. All in all, I’d say it went about as well as could be expected,” Yularen said. “It was lucky you and Commander Vanto were able to get your emergency beacon out of the holding cell when you did, though.”

“Indeed,” Thrawn said. His voice was unchanged, and Eli forcibly kept his eyes on his datapad. “Your report said that Agent Gudry’s death was confirmed?”

Eli glanced up in time to see the colonel’s jaw tighten before he answered. “Yes, sir. He was found shot dead in Governor Pryce’s parents’ home.”

“He was a good agent and a loyal protector,” Pryce said. “He gave his life so my parents and I could escape, and I will not forget that.”

“Did he? And yet, there was no significant damage to the house and no other signs of fighting in that particular area,” Yularen said, his eyes fixed on Pryce. Eli could feel the tension growing in the room.

Pryce met the colonel’s gaze steadily. “As I said, he was followed when he left the mining complex. There were a number of attackers; they must have quickly overpowered him after I left.”

After a moment, Thrawn spoke into the tense silence, his voice giving no hint as to what he thought of the whole thing. “And Nightswan?”

“No sign of him, sir,” Yularen said, breaking his stare with Pryce to look at Thrawn again. “Either among the dead or the prisoners. There were some bodies that were too badly burned by the explosives cache detonation to be identifiable, though. He may have been among them.”

“Perhaps,” Thrawn said. “Perhaps not.” Eli looked up. He could see the considering look in Thrawn’s eyes, though he wasn’t sure if anyone else there could.

“Still, the Emperor is pleased with the outcome,” Pryce said. “Very pleased indeed.” She looked pretty pleased, herself, Eli thought.

“Is he?” Thrawn said.

Eli saw Pryce glance away from the burning red gaze before answering. “He is. I expect he’ll find a tangible way to show his thanks.”

There was a signal from the conference room intercom. “Yes?” Thrawn asked.

“A message from Coruscant, Admiral,” Faro reported. “The Emperor requests your presence at the Imperial Palace at your earliest convenience.”

“Thank you, Commander,” Thrawn said. “Transmit my acknowledgement, and inform Coruscant that we will travel there as soon as the Batonn matter has been finalized.”

“Yes, sir.” The intercom clicked off.

“You don’t want to keep the Emperor waiting, Admiral,” Pryce warned.

“Agreed,” Yularen said. “With respect, sir, we can handle things from groundside.”

“And the cruisers can follow on as soon as their repairs are complete, sir,” Eli added, pulling up the damage assessment and estimated repair timelines. “They shouldn’t be more than a couple days behind us. If you’d like, we can leave the frigates here with them so that they can all convoy together.”

“An excellent thought,” Thrawn said, and Eli kept his face straight despite the small bloom of pride that warmed his chest. Thrawn’s approval _always_ managed to do that to him. “Very well. Inform Commander Faro to make ready. The _Chimaera_ will leave Batonn in three hours, with the rest of the task force following as able. Colonel Yularen, if during the next three hours you find my attention here is further needed, please inform me so that I may delay our departure.”

“Yes sir,” Yularen said, and Eli stood up along with him and Pryce.

“Governor Pryce, a word with you in private, if I may,” Thrawn said.

Eli shared a look with Yularen, but said nothing as he gathered up his datapad and cards. Yularen was obviously suspicious that Pryce wasn’t telling the truth. Eli happened to agree with him, and didn’t believe for a moment that the admiral had bought her story either.

Apparently he and Thrawn weren’t the only ones with secrets when it came to the fall of Creekpath.

 

* * *

 

“So do you think you’ll take Pryce up on her offer?” Eli asked from where he was cuddled snugly against Thrawn’s chest, their arms intertwined across his front. _He is mostly relaxed, but his grip remains tight._

They had finally been able to escape to the privacy of Thrawn’s quarters once the _Chimaera_ had gotten underway towards Coruscant, both of them seeking comfort; both of them needing to talk after their captivity and liaison with Nightswan, and each more concerned about the other than about themselves. And they had talked, at great length, just holding one another close while they sorted through the complex tangle of emotions together. Neither of them was entirely at ease with what had happened, but strangely enough, neither of them had any regrets either.

“I do,” Thrawn replied. There was a long pause.

“I don’t trust her,” Eli said.

Thrawn pressed a kiss to the back of his head, nuzzling into Eli’s hair and inhaling his scent. “Nor do I. But I do believe that our interests align for the moment.” _He relaxes further, shifting slightly._

There was another long silence before Eli spoke again. “Do you think Nightswan actually survived in the end?”

“Have you read about the nightswan, Eli?” Thrawn asked. “Not the man, but the creature he named himself for.” Eli shook his head, his hair tickling against Thrawn’s lips. “It sings only as night is falling. I do not believe Nightswan ever expected his stand would succeed, but he chose to make it anyway.”

Eli turned over and met Thrawn’s eyes. “So you think he did die.”

Thrawn paused. Perhaps the song of the Nightswan was indeed silenced. The path ended; the pattern broken. If so, the galaxy would be the worse for its loss.

But perhaps this was instead one more turn in that path. The emergence of a new pattern.

“I do not know. I hope that he did not,” he finally said honestly, holding Eli’s gaze. _He tilts his head to one side in question._ “He may have been our adversary up until now, but if he were to reconsider taking a position with the Ascendency… His path may yet cross ours again, now that he knows there is another option.”

“You’d still offer him that?” Eli asked. “Even after he didn’t surrender on Batonn? Why?” _His expression is of quiet confusion. His tone holds curiosity without accusation._

His chest tight, Thrawn hesitated only briefly before answering. Eli deserved to know the truth.

“Because someone must go and I cannot bear the thought of parting ways with the only other person I would entrust with the task.”

_His breath catches and tears glisten in his eyes but do not fall. When he speaks, his voice is hoarse but steady._

“Then… I hope we do run into him again,” Eli said, and the tightness in Thrawn’s chest spread up to his throat as Eli took his hand, twining their fingers tightly together.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! Plot is hard. Any comments are as always greatly appreciated ^_^  
> Thanks for reading!!


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